Shadow's past
by FemaleSpock
Summary: Aarch and Artegor are reminiscing about the past but the memory that stands out to Artegor is never even mentioned. Aarch/Artegor the one-sided variety .


Shadow's past

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Galactik Football and I make no money from this fanfiction.**

**Ciaran and Gabby are my OCs and were a part of the former Akillian football team with Aarch and Artegor.**

**I wasn't really planning on writing this fic but I got the idea and then it wouldn't go away until I wrote it.**

It had been years since Aarch and Artegor had drunk together; not since Aarch had left the Shadows to be precise. But here they were; drinking a bar- reminiscing about old times. It had been Aarch who suggested it; he'd been feeling a bit nostalgic recently (perhaps it was his age) and he hadn't really had chance to just spend time with Artegor since they had become friends again. They had gone to the bar and each ordered a drink and made some general conversation but soon the conversation turned to times gone by.

"Do you remember the time that Gabby came into practice with green hair after trying to put blonde highlights in?"

"How could I forget," Artegor said, smiling rather than laughing out loud as Aarch was "Coach couldn't believe his eyes."

"Gabby was funny though, what was that nickname she gave you again?"

Artegor scowled at the memory "Tay-tay."

"That's it!" Aarch nodded his head seriously whilst trying not to laugh "it suited you."

"Be serious Aarch," was the only comment that Artegor had on the suitability of his nickname.

"I am serious. Speaking of serious, do you remember out first dinner with the Shadows that was so awkward?"

"Oh yes, what was it that they served us to eat?"

"Didn't really want to ask, but it looked a lot like brains, who knows that animal it was from." Aarch said, pulling a face.

"It was disgusting; I was so glad that you set them straight about what was good for humans to eat, or else we would have been eating that stuff for months!"

"Yes, well it had to be done," Aarch said, shrugging "hey! Do you remember the incident with Ciaran and the can of baked beans?"

"How could I forget? After all that trouble, he didn't even eat them!"

"Not to mention the stains! Coach was so angry! I don't think Ciaran ever ate any beans again."

"He didn't," Artegor confirmed.

An hour and several drinks later and they had moved on to all the things that Norata did.

"Remember that time he was dared to inhale helium from a balloon, calling it "a ridiculous thing to do" and he refused. But then Gabby called him a chicken so he did..."

"...and he inhaled too much and passed out," Artegor finished.

"Yes! He never really lived that down," Aarch said, laughing at the thought of it. His poor, serious, little brother falling for such a simple line.

"I can imagine not..."

"Of course you can only imagine, because you NEVER did anything embarrassing," Aarch said a little sarcastically.

"I never did anything embarrassing," Artegor stated flatly.

"Oh really, what about that time that you slipped over a banana skin! I mean I didn't even think that was possible!"

"There's nothing embarrassing about slipping, it happens to everyone," Artegor protested.

Two hours later and Artegor had gone back to his house. He was alone; as usual- after all he had no-one to live with. He poured himself another drink (he'd already had more than enough) as he sank into his favourite chair. He started to laugh, the drunken laugh of bitterness (it was a laugh he had used many times over the years.) Despite the fact that Aarch had brought up all these memories there was one that seemed to Artegor to be conspicuously missing. He cast his mind back (it wasn't hard; he'd been over this memory so many times in his mind over the years).

Years ago....back when Artegor played for the Akillians....

Aarch burst through the door in an unruly fashion into the room that he shared with Artegor. Artegor was surprised to see him there. After all he'd gone to see Adium and nowadays that meant that Aarch didn't come back to the room until the next morning. Not that Artegor wasn't pleased to see Aarch; it bothered him that Aarch never wanted to hang out with him nowadays. He'd never admit it to anyone but it actually hurt that Aarch had dropped him like a stone in favour of Adium. Now Artegor just waited; waited for the explanation of why Aarch was back at this time of night. He suspected that Aarch had just left something behind.

"That Adium! Why does she have to be so difficult?" Aarch said as he sat down on the floor next to Artegor.

"What's happened?" Artegor asked curiously, he'd never known Aarch to have any sort of difficulty with Adium and secretly, meanly, he hoped they would break up so things could go back to the way they were before Aarch became interested in girls. They'd always had this plan to become the best footballers in the galaxy; getting girlfriends had never factored into that.

"She wants me to meet her parents and I really don't want to yet! We've not even been going out that long! It's like she thinks we are engaged or something," he complained, then he smiled and reached under his bed for something (which turned out to be a bottle of cheap wine) "I snuck this into the room a while ago, I think now is the time to drink it, don't you?"

"Won't we get caught?" Artegor said, furrowing his brow.

"Nah, Coach never has to know," he said opening the bottle and taking a swing straight from the bottle and passing it to Artegor.

Artegor looked down at the bottle a little doubtfully and shrugged and followed Aarch in drinking some. He then returned them to the original topic of Adium "she'll probably thinks that the two of you are really serious or something."

"You think?" Aarch asked, as if Artegor was really the expert on girls or relationships (he hadn't even been on a singular date.)

"Of course. That's what girls are like. You'll get distracted from football and next thing you know you'll be married with three kids, working in the mines just to support them," Artegor said, taking another sip of the wine.

"Oh come on, as if I would ever abandon football," Aarch said, snatching the bottle off Artegor and chugging some down, he drank way too much and spluttered, spitting some over himself..

"Well that's the way you are headed," Artegor said seriously.

Aarch shoved Artegor slightly, playfully "get real, we both know I could never quit football."

"But does Adium know it?" he asked, gesturing to Aarch to pass him the bottle, which he did. Artegor drank considerably less than Aarch had, mindful of the fact that he didn't want wine all over his clothes.

"She should, she's a player herself, she should understand."

"I don't think she does. So what she understands football? She still wants to be serious with you. I've seen the way she is with you, all clingy and needy."

"Oh come on! She's not that needy," Aarch protested, slowly sipping the wine this time.

"She is, she's like this," Artegor moved and put his arm around Aarch's shoulder, normally he wouldn't have done this, but he was unused to the effects of alcohol (which was in fact very strong.)

Aarch turned his head to face Artegor and grinned "Nah, she's more like this," he said moving even closer to Artegor so that their faces were merely inches apart and Artegor could feel Aarch's warm breath on his face.

Neither of them knew which one of them moved first but somehow, naturally it seemed, they had gotten even closer to the point where their lips met. Artegor could feel heat rising to his face; there was this burning sensation running through his body. What was this feeling? He could feel every nerve in his body cry out with sensation. It was both pleasant and uncomfortable at the same time. It felt somewhat similar to the Breath only far left gentle- this feeling was raw and powerful. The moment was short; under a minute but it felt like an explosion. Something that could change the course within a person's heart.

Aarch pulled away first. The only thing Artegor could see was the horrified and disgusted look on his face. Something within him was squirming uncomfortably and he felt a wave of heat pass over him. He needed to get out of here, this room, this situation.

"We're drunk!" Aarch blurted out with sudden wildness.

Artegor said nothing; he physically couldn't.

"I was upset about Adium; this sort of stuff happens all the time when people get drunk. It means nothing," he said more wildly.

Artegor felt that he could agree but he felt paralysed; somewhere he knew that this wasn't just a drunken mistake at least not to him.

"We'll never speak of it again, I won't say anything, you don't say anything either," Aarch said, sounding horribly sober all of a sudden.

"I won't say anything," Artegor said in a croaky voice, not meeting Aarch's eye. Aarch got up suddenly and put the bottle away. Then he got into his bed and hastily let sleep wash away what had clearly not been a pleasant event for him. Artegor stayed slumped on the floor for a while before hoisting himself onto his bed. Sleep didn't come for him though.

The next day Aarch seemed to have forgotten everything due to the alcohol. Although Artegor wasn't sure; he couldn't exactly question Aarch about it. Maybe it was better; it was less awkward. But Artegor felt alone; he had to shoulder the burden of the memory all by himself. Not to mention what it could mean for him. It was never really the same for him from that time. Slowly revelations kept leaking through until Artegor knew everything. He wished he didn't. He wished he could go back to being the guy who was Aarch's best friend rather than anything he might be now.

In the present day...

Artegor sat up in his chair. That memory was less sharply painful than it was but it still never failed to provoke an emotional response in him. He was still as hopeless as he had been that day; Aarch was as happy and oblivious as ever. It hardly seemed fair. There wasn't anything he could do anyway, so Artegor put away his glass, turned off the light and walked off to bed.

**Poor Artegor! Please review and tell me what you think! **


End file.
